This invention relates to the field promotional marketing. More specifically, this invention relates to a method and system for integrating television brand advertising with promotional marketing.
The promotional marketing and coupon industry is fraught with waste and inefficiency. In the year 2001, 344 billion coupons were distributed, while only 3.9 billion or 1.1% were redeemed (Coupon Council of America). Total savings to consumers were $3 billion. Freestanding inserts (FSI's), one of the more popular ways to nationally distribute coupons, had a redemption rate of less than one percent in 2001. One interesting note is that coupons distributed over the Internet had a redemption rate of 2.91%, almost three times the rate of FSI coupons redeemed.
Another popular form of marketing is brand advertising, which is typically done by the use of television commercials. According to the Television Bureau of advertising, in 2001, the amount spent both in network and spot television advertising was $35.8 billion.
The Internet as an advertising medium is hampered by its low reach, but has the benefits of being able to be more precisely targeted to an audience. FSI's and television have a large reach, but are harder to target to a specific audience. FSI creation also has the disadvantage of a longer planning time, as graphic ads need to be created, and then printed and inserted into newspapers on a national basis. This lead-time adds months onto a marketing plan. Tailoring specific offers for specific geographic markets also adds expense to a campaign with the creation of multiple different ads or commercials for each market.